Antenna systems which are equipped with a plurality of vertically arranged antenna elements that can individually be supplied with respective transmit signals enable to adjust a resulting beam pattern of the antenna system in a vertical direction in a per se known manner. For instance, by applying a specific signal to a first antenna element of such antenna system, and by applying phase shifted copies of said first signal to the further antenna elements, a tilt angle of the antenna system may be electronically controlled.
However, the conventional approaches do not provide for an efficient determination of a tilt angle which is to be used by the base station for data communications with its terminals.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide an improved base station and method of operating such base station which ensure an efficient determination of a tilt angle to be used for communications. Moreover, a further object of the present invention is to provide a terminal for a cellular communications network which supports the aforedescribed operation of the base station.